Suspect in Half Moon Bay shooting pleads not guilty to killing 7 people

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A farm worker accused of killing seven people last month in a shootout at two mushroom farms in Northern California pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Chunli Zhao, 66, has been charged with seven counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Prosecutors said he opened fire on the Half Moon Bay mushroom farm where he worked on January 23, killing four employees and injuring one. According to them, he then went to the mushroom farm, from which he was fired in 2015, and shot three former colleagues.

Zhao confessed to the shooting during a prison media interview a few days after the shooting. Zhao told KNTV-TV that he was bullied and worked long hours on the farm, and that his complaints were ignored.

On Thursday, Zhao, dressed in a red prison uniform, appeared behind a glass partition in the courtroom with his head down and only spoke as a Chinese interpreter relayed the judge’s questions, Mercury News reported. At last week’s hearing, Zhao wept so loudly that the judge adjourned for a short time.

Last week, a judge issued a non-disclosure order barring prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as Zhao and the county sheriff, from speaking to reporters about the facts of the case or sharing opinions about what happened. They may still discuss open court decisions and the procedural status of upcoming hearings.

Earlier, the judge granted the request of defense lawyers to limit remote access to court records.

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